Farm Credit Shows Support for the Arkansas Beef Project

LITTLE ROCK, AR (April 16, 2018 )− The Arkansas Beef Project, a program of the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, is the beneficiary of what has become a generous annual donation from three Arkansas Farm Credit associations. Michelle Shope, Alliance director of food sourcing and logistics, accepted a check for $5,300 from Mike Williams, Farm Credit Midsouth, and Lana Stovall, AgHeritage Farm Credit Services, and Jill Robertson, Farm Credit of Western Arkansas, to help support this innovative hunger relief program. “Farm Credit is proud to help make Arkansas beef more readily available to food-insecure Arkansans,” said James McJunkins, president and CEO of Farm Credit Midsouth. Farm Credit is a member-owned financial services cooperative that provides credit and financial management services to agricultural producers, agri-businesses and rural residents. Farm Credit has been a reliable source of credit for more than 100 years and finances farms, country homes, land, equipment and more.

The Alliance is grateful for Farm Credit’s commitment to helping provide protein for the people of Arkansas who don’t always know where they will get their next meal. “Having a reliable, affordable source of meat protein is a constant challenge for food pantries and food banks in Arkansas,” said Shope. “Being able to provide this to people who simply cannot afford to buy meat on their limited food budgets is a huge benefit, and we thank Farm Credit for their leadership in helping make the Arkansas Beef Project a sustainable program.”

The Arkansas Beef Project is a statewide partnership among the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, Arkansas Cattlemen's Association and Farmers Feeding the World. The program was developed to create a sustainable resource of meat pro-tein. The project offers cattle ranchers and others a unique opportunity to provide a much-needed source of protein to many Arkansas children, seniors and families in need.
Arkansas cattlemen, livestock auctions and others participate in the Arkansas Beef Project
in three ways:
Cash donations. Money is used to purchase domestic ground beef and process donated
animals.
Live cow or bull donation. An adult cow or bull is transported to a USDA-approved facility
where it is processed. The Beef Project pays the cost of processing from cash donations.
Calf Donation. A calf is raised by a cattleman or cattlewoman, then donated to the program.

All donated beef is distributed in one-pound portions to food banks and food pantries across the state
to help provide food-insecure Arkansans with a reliable, affordable source of protein.
*subject to changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017

About the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance

Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, lead partner in Arkansas for the No Kid Hungry campaign, is a non-profit collaborative network of more than 520 hunger relief organizations across Arkansas. Our founding members include the Arkansas Foodbank in Little Rock, the Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas in Jonesboro, Harvest Regional Food Bank in Texarkana, Food Bank of North Central Arkan-sas in Norfork, Northwest Arkansas Food Bank in Bethel Heights and River Valley Regional Food Bank in Fort Smith. The Alliance mission is to reduce hunger and improve access to nutritious food by providing tools and resources, empowerment, advocacy, educa-tion and research. We invite you to visit www.ARhungeralliance.org for details on hunger relief programs, donor and volunteer op-portunities.

About the Arkansas Beef Project

The Arkansas Beef Project is a new statewide partnership among the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance, Arkansas Cattlemen’s Asso-ciation and Farmers Feeding the World. The project goal is to develop a reliable, sustainable and cost-effective resource for meat protein for those Arkansans that don’t always know where they will get their next meal. Providing sufficient protein to people who are struggling with food insecurity is an ongoing challenge. Thanks to the generosity of many cattle ranchers and volunteers, Arkan-sans in need will have access to meat protein through their local food banks and pantries. The Arkansas Beef Project appreciates the ongoing support of the Arkansas Agriculture Department.